


Third Floor Feels

by MoreAdventurous16



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: AU, AU of just them being adults, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, Femslash, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, I know I KNOW, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Smut, but it's mostly alice's story, i'll try to bring in everyone, idk we need more alice loving ladies though, no magic, slowish burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:49:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25548493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoreAdventurous16/pseuds/MoreAdventurous16
Summary: Alice is the new neighbor in the building, on a floor of apartments surrounded by two gorgeous women. Some of them just want friendship. Or nothing. Or everything.ORAU where these kiddos are just living their damn lives as sexually frustrated adults who have feelings.
Relationships: Alice Quinn/Julia Wicker, Kady Orloff-Diaz/Alice Quinn, Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh, William "Penny" Adiyodi/Kady Orloff-Diaz
Comments: 17
Kudos: 19





	1. Newbie Neighbor

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written a ton recently except screenplays, so I apologize if there's a lack of details to start. I'm getting back into the swing of things.
> 
> Basically I heard my neighbors having super loud sex the other day, and I've really been having the feels for Alice fics lately, so my brain came up with this. I imagine I'll keep writing updates, it started with a good flow for me. I'd like it to have some semblance of a plot to it, but honestly, I think Alice just has a lot of pent up sexual shit going on and everyone is hot af and gets feeling whether they want them or not. There are a lot of alternate ending fics but not nearly as many AUs in my opinion, and I tend to get more of an imagination when I write that way.
> 
> No one asked for it. But here it is.

Alice hates moving. She hated moving into her dorm in college, she hated moving back to her parents house, and despite the fact that this was the first place of her very own, she hated moving there, too. What she didn’t hate was her new neighbor. Well. One of them, anyway. 

Julia knocked on Alice's door the evening she moved into the building. It was a softer knock, somehow friendly sounding. Alice abandoned the box she was working on unpacking with a sigh - she figured she should probably take a break anyway. She’d been going nonstop since she woke up that morning and moved all her things over. She had help from Eliot, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot. Mostly because he’s Eliot. He means well, but he’s useless when it comes to any sort of physical labor. At least one of his roommates, Fen, came by for a few hours to actually help. 

Alice opened the door to a beautiful brunette woman, standing a little shorter than herself. Alice was a little taken aback by how pretty she was, so she didn’t say anything. Just kind of stared blankly. 

“Uh, hi?” said the woman. “I’m Julia, I live just next door with my roommate Quentin. I wanted to introduce myself and welcome you to the building.”

“Oh, I- hi,” Alice said, finally snapping out of it. She stuck out her hand to shake with Julia. “I’m Alice. Sorry, I’m kind of out of it. It’s been a long day.” Nice save, Quinn, she thought to herself. Way to start off strong and awkward. 

Julia smiled and shook her hand, holding on for a little longer than Alice thought necessary. But she didn’t exactly mind. Julia’s grip was strong but soft. Stronger than one would think. But Alice appreciated a good handshake. She liked strong first impressions, otherwise she didn’t tend to go back for a second. She was pretty finicky with meeting people, so she generally didn’t spend the energy to get to know someone unless it was worth it. Julia seemed worth it. Alice seemed flustered. 

“Hi,” Julia said, still smiling. “Welcome to the third floor! I’m headed out for the night, but I’m free most of tomorrow if you need any help with anything. I don’t know if you do need help, but if you do.” Was Julia flustered, too? Kind of felt like it. Alice gave her a small smile back.

“Yeah, maybe,” Alice said. “You’re just next door then? Which side?” Alice’s new place was on the third floor, middle apartment on that side of the hallway. Julia pointed left. 

“3C,” she said. “My best friend and I are there, and then 3A is Kady, I’m sure you’ll meet her soon. She’s out of town for work right now, but I think she’s back in a couple of days.” 

“Oh, great-,” Alice started, but Julia’s phone started going off in her back pocket. 

“Sorry, this is my roomie, Quentin, now actually,” Julia said, motioning with her phone in hand. “He’s downstairs waiting for me. Maybe we could stop by tomorrow? Give you a hand? Or at least I can introduce you to Q.” 

“Yeah that-,” Alice began. Julia’s phone stopped ringing, but several “ping” noises sounded as texts came in. 

“Sorry, I have to go, but tomorrow?” Julia asked, looking right into Alice’s eyes. Oof.

“It’s fine,” she said. “Yeah, I’ll be around.” Her smile had faded, but Julia’s was still there. 

“Awesome,” Julia said. “Have a good night, don’t unpack too hard.” She winked at Alice and turned to walk down the hall as her phone started ringing again. Alice shut the door and stood behind it for a minute. A wink? Jesus. She needed a drink and some sleep.

___

Julia got into Quentin’s car downstairs. He looked annoyed. 

“You’re late,” he said. “Margo’s not stoked on latecomers.”

“And you’re impatient,” Julia said, sticking her tongue out at him. “It’s just drinks with coworkers, Margo can chill. If we’re right on time we look like idiots anyway. I was being friendly to the new neighbor.”

“Who is it this time?” Quentin asked, driving off toward downtown. “Please tell me it’s a gorgeous 20-something who’s tall, dark, and handsom and maybe a little more gay than the last one.”

“First off,” she said pointedly, “you don’t need a man in your life who lives next door, who you can’t get away from when you decide they’re too good for you and sulk away from the relationship.” 

“Hey-!”

“Second- she is normal height, blonde, probably around our age. Definitely gorgeous. Sexual preference unknown, but I got vibes.”

“Oh, so you can have a next door fling but I can’t?” 

“Whoa, no one said anything about a fling,” Julia said as she touched up her makeup in the mirror. “She’s kind of standoff-ish, but cute. As Kady would probably say, She can definitely get it.”

“Shit, are we going to have to protect her from Kady?” Quentin laughed. “Or do you think she can hold her own?”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

___

Quentin and Alice got along well enough at first. They were definitely intellectually similar, but Julia noticed that Alice had a confidence about her that Quentin could sometimes lack, despite his high IQ. It turns out they all went to the same school, just different departments at slightly different times, so they’d never met. If nothing else, they all bonded over that. 

“Economics just seemed like the right fit, almost right away,” Q was saying to Alice, as he and Julia were helping unpack kitchen boxes in Alice’s apartment. “I’ve always been good with numbers, recognizing trends and all that. I didn’t think I’d end up at a marketing firm, but it pays better for a lot less effort. I basically just make up big words and spit out numbers during meetings and everyone assumes i’m doing my job.”

Alice gave him a look, Julia chuckled quietly at Quentin.

“Well, I mean, I do my job,” he explained, “but they all definitely think it’s way more complicated than it is.”

Alice nods in appreciation of Quentin’s slyness on the job. 

“I can’t do numbers on something that isn’t absolute,” Alice said flatly. Quentin looked a little stunned at her bluntness. “Not to say the study of economics isn't important, I just would rather have a formula and an outcome that I can test myself, without outside factors affecting said outcome. Maybe-” she pauses and thinks for a second. “Maybe numbers from out in the world scare me a little. I’d rather work with something over which I have full control. Thus, engineering in a lab, where I can have that control.”

Quentin nods in agreement. “I get it,” he said. “I think I like the excitement of the unknown, in all that data. But the uncertainty of it can also be stressful, so who knows. I’m mostly in it for the numbers. It was either that or teaching math, and I hate teaching.”

Julia watched the other two converse and bicker and then agree again. She chipped into the conversation once in a while, but mostly observed the beginning of a new friendship. Q needed more friends like Alice. 

“What do you do, Julia?” Alice asked, when there was finally a break in their conversation. 

“I don’t hate teaching,” she smiled at Quentin knowingly. “I have a yoga studio a few blocks away, I teach most days over there, and when I don’t teach I run the business and boutique that’s attached.”

“She’s being modest,” Quentin said. “She went to an Ivy League business school and graduated top of her class. She can do numbers better than the best of us-”

“But I don’t enjoy it like you do,” Julia said. “It’s too much for my brain sometimes. Yoga practice turns that down, and I can actually enjoy living instead of having stats run through my head 24/7. I run numbers as it pertains to my business, and that’s enough for me.” 

Alice stops putting plates away and looks at Julia, a little empathetically. “That sounds nice,” she said, with a sense of longing in her voice, and in her eyes. Julia catches her eye and her lips turn up into the slightest of smiles before she turns away again. Julia sees it, Quentin doesn’t. They go back to talking numbers and college and putting away dishes.  
___

Alice doesn’t meet Kady until over a week later, but she certainly gets to know her. A few days after getting settled in and unpacking, Alice is sitting eating take out for dinner when she hears the door in 3A open and slam shut. Alice sighed and looked pointedly at the shared wall she had with Kady’s apartment, knowing her new neighbor was back from her work trip. Julia and Quentin had stayed for dinner after helping her with boxes before, and they hinted very subtly that Kady might be a bit...much. 

What Alice was not prepared for however, was the loud moans, and eventual goddamn sex screams from her new neighbor in 3A.

It started late the night Kady came home. After the initial door slam, Alice wasn’t expecting absolute silence or anything- she wasn’t that uptight. But she soon found out her living room wasn’t the only room that shared a wall with Kady- so did their bedrooms. 

The moans started slowly, then reached a crescendo of (she assumed from Kady) yelling obscenities on the other side of the plaster and insulation and wood framing. Alice wasn’t one to kink shame. Being vocal and dirty talk clearly did it for some people, but the noise was something else. Hearing “Yes! Yes! Fuck, right there!” during the hours after midnight wasn’t in her agenda. And on a weekday no less.


	2. Tea Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julia takes Alice some tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I enjoy these quicker chapters, in terms of writing and releasing them out into the world. I've still got more coming. I do all my own edits, etc., so I like to hold onto what a write for a sec before posting. Thanks for sticking with me, hope y'all enjoy what I'm throwing out there!

Quentin was ready for work and searching for his keys the next morning when Julia came out of her room, looking less than ready for the day.

“Rough night?” he asked.

“Kady came home last night,” she said, matter of factly. “How did you sleep?”

“Oh, yeah, I wore earplugs in anticipation of that,”he said. “Trends are trends for a reason, you know, even if it’s just a neighbor having loud sex consistently after a tour.” He smiled slyly as he scanned the room for his keys.

“Jesus, there was nothing just about that shit,” she said. “I hope Alice doesn’t hate us for not warning her. I feel like last night was worse than the usual.”

 _Nothing like loud sex to say “welcome to our floor,”_ she thought.

“But seriously, maybe I should check on her.”

“Who, Alice or Kady?” Quentin said, knowing the answer but egging Julia on to tell him anyway. He could tell she cared about her, even though she’d only lived on the floor for a few days.

“Both?” Julia said. “Kady isn’t the worst person to have as a friend, you know.”

Quentin wasn’t the biggest fan of their “friend” in 3A. Not so much Kady really, but her suitors. Well, mainly this guy, Penny. Quentin had run into him twice in the hallway now, and he was kind of a dick. Kady slept with a handful of people, but Penny seemed to be the most utilized. Not that Quentin was keeping track, or ever looked out the front door peephole whenever he heard the door slam down the hall so he could see who she’d fucked that night. It was purely data. Or something. He may have also thought Penny was cute and Q was the type who liked to torture himself a little that way.

“If you want any chance with Alice you’re probably going to want to make sure she doesn’t move out after the first week. Ah ha!” He yelled, pulling his found keys out of the couch cushions.

“Excuse me, I don’t want a ‘chance’ with Alice, she's just nice and-” Julia started.

“Sure, sure, nice and totally your type,” he said as he walked toward Julia, picking up his satchel off the bar stool next to her. She took the chance to punch him as he walked away. “Hey! I’m just saying, she seems like a good person, despite her obvious lack of social skills. But if I’m not mistaken that’s a feature you tend to lean into.”

Julia huffed a frustrated sigh. She did like her for that reason, but because Alice’s awkward manner was interesting - she was bored of people easily, but Alice peaked her...well, everything.

“Look, yes, she’s cute,” she said. “But I’d rather make friends than find fuck buddies right now. Kady’s got that on lock for all of us.”

“Alice doesn’t seem to be the fuck buddy type, but I hear ya,” he said, walking toward the door. “You should definitely check on her though. If you could hear them down the hall, imagine Alice sharing a bedroom wall with that shit. See you at your class later.” He waved and left.

Julia sat there for a few minutes, suddenly imagining Alice in bed, listening to the sounds of sex. She shook the thought out of her head almost as soon as it started, and instead got to thinking of how to approach Alice about it in the most careful way. She busied herself by making tea, like most mornings. This morning, though, she mainly needed it as a distraction. She didn’t have to teach until the afternoon that day, and after that awful night of lack of sleep, she’d probably do best to get a nap in before midday.

She decided to make a second cup of hot tea and headed over to 3B.  
___

She finally got to sleep around 3 a.m., once she moved to the guest bedroom. Alice decided, also around that time, that she would be switching her room permanently to this one. She could still hear shouts of ecstasy from here, but it was way more tolerable than sharing a wall with Kady. She woke up for work at 6, because despite setbacks, she still had a daily schedule to stick to.

She was eating a piece of toast and looking through the morning news on her phone an hour later, when she heard a soft knock at the door. It already sounded familiar. She felt a little knot of anxiety and a warmth stir in her lower abdomen. She opened the door to Julia holding two mugs of tea.

“Hi,” Julia said softly. She looked tired, Alice thought, but still beautiful. “How was your first night of, uh, Kady?”

Alice pursed her lips and stood up a little straighter. It’s not that she was uncomfortable with sex, by any means; her parents were very open and supportive when it came to discussing sex with their kids while she was growing up. Probably too supportive. Alice’s first boyfriend was scared off because her mom tossed a box of condoms to him the first time he came to her house, and said, “All I ask is you keep me from being a grandmother before I’m ready,” and walked off. Thank god her first girlfriends weren’t until college when she was out of her parent’s house.

“Good morning,” Alice said stiffly. “It wasn’t the most pleasant evening I’ve ever had, but I persevered. It was clearly more pleasant for others.”

Julia laughed. “That’s one way to put it,” She said. “I brought you tea,” Julia awkwardly held out one of the mugs before realizing it was kind of weird to come over with tea to a person’s place whom she didn’t actually know that well. Julia, the chillest of yogis, started to panic under the pressure of the strange gaze of a pretty girl. “I don’t even know if you- do you like tea? You don’t have to if you don’t want it, I didn’t really think about it, I just thought- well because I didn’t sleep well- I mean, tea has always helped me wake up. And I thought you might..maybe want some.” _Smooth, Wicker._ “Also I’m teaching a class tonight at 5:30 if you want to come? Quentin’s coming so you wouldn’t be without familiar company.”

_What? Why did you just do that? Does Alice even do yoga? Jesus Christ, Julia, pull it together._

Alice smiled the smallest of smiles and seemed to loosen up a bit.

“I’d love some tea,” she said, reaching out to take the mug from Julia. Their fingers touched for what seemed like a very long fraction of a second. Julia bit her lip a little as she quelled the unfamiliar anxiety, and sudden heat that flashed through her body.

Alice noticed Julia pause slightly at their fingers brushing against each other. She couldn’t help but marvel at how good Julia looked in her yoga pants and oversized sweater. _Do I ask her to come in? That’s what people do, right?_ She thought.

There was a brief moment when neither one of them spoke, and the air among them stilled. It wasn’t uncomfortable.

“Okay well I-”  
“Doyouwantocomein?”

They spoke over each other, then both laughed at the overlap.

“For a few, yeah,” Julia said. “Thanks.” Alice opened the door more and Julia came in and sat on the couch.

“I’ve never actually done yoga before,” Alice confessed as she sat to join Julia. “I’d like to come, but I can’t today.” She had a ton of labs to do and had already taken a day off of work.

Julia hoped Alice didn’t see her face fall a little, but Julia was also self aware enough I know Alice probably had other shit going on in her life. She perked back up, sitting up straight and sipped her own mug of tea before answering.

“Of course,” Julia said. “That’s fine, really, anytime you feel like you might want to come in-”

The door to 3A slammed and they heard heavy footsteps travel down the hall.

Julia looked from the door to Alice. “She’s really not that bad,” Julia explained. “ Last night doesn’t usually happen. To that extent, anyway.” She sipped her tea again.

Alice shook her head slightly and refocused on Julia. Or rather, anything else around that wasn’t Julia. Whenever she looked at her for too long she started to hear Kady’s voice in her head and imagined Julia in her bed hearing the same things.

“Right,” Alice said. “I’d love to try, sometime-really. I just have a lot to get done this afternoon and I know I won’t be finished by that time. But maybe another day?”

“Absolutely,” said Julia, smile returning, happy to ignore Kady despite her being the reason she came over to Alice’s in the first place. “I also do private one-on-one sessions if you ever-” _Jesus fuck, Julia, what are you doing_ , “-if you don't feel like going to a class full of people or whatever.”

It may have been the hot tea, but Julia could’ve sworn Alice’s cheeks got slightly flushed. Her glasses definitely steamed up, for what it’s worth. But that was probably from the tea. Maybe.

Alice glanced at the clock on the wall.

“Oh, I have to get going,” Alice said, voice a little higher key than normal on a couple words. “Sorry, I don't mean to rush off-”

“No, it's fine, I’m the one who intruded!” Julia said, standing up and moving toward the door. “ Just uh, I’ll get that mug back later, I have to get going as well.” She opened the door and started to leave, then stopped in the doorway and turned back to Alice.

“Let me know when you’d like to come down to the studio,” she said. “I think that’d be really fun.” And with a quick smile and nod to Alice, she went back home to start her morning yoga.

Alice was still standing in front of the couch with her cup of tea.

“Bye,” she said quietly to an empty room.

___

Julia lost her facade of coolness and basically ran the twenty feet down to her door holding a still half full mug of hot tea. She felt...flustered? Nervous? The way one feels after taking a big chance? But she didn’t, not really, she told herself. She told Q She didn’t need anything of a sexual nature right now, just a new friend. That’s all. Except...why did she feel so hot and bothered by taking her new friend a cup of tea? And offering her a private yoga practice session? Julia was definitely feeling a warm something move within her, and it wasn’t from the tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She'll meet Kady soon, I promise ;)
> 
> Again, thanks for bearing with me as I find my footing writing stories that aren't screenplay format. For those of you unfamiliar, screenplays are generally written with little detail, only what you can see and hear. This is fun for me so far though, so I'm excited to keep going.


	3. Dirty Laundry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice meets Kady and two stubborn worlds collide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoping to get to the good stuff soon, and less angst and intros after this chapter. Thanks for sticking with me! Y'all are lovely.

Julia’s mug sat on the counter top in Alice’s kitchen for the rest of the week. She’d washed it, dried it, set it by her keys so she’d remember to take it back over to 3C in the coming days. But she hadn't anticipated such a busy work week, and by the time she got home later than expected each night, she passed by the mug (trying not to think about the person to whom it belonged) and went straight to bed. 

By the time the weekend came around she had plenty of laundry to get done, and she needed to clean the apartment because Eliot and Fen were coming over later for housewarming drinks (Eliot’s idea, not hers; but she knew she should be a _little_ social, so she let him plan out a whole cocktail menu for the occasion. Fen would probably get Josh to make some sort of charcuterie plate or something). She’d lived there a week and she’d already managed to make it look like she’d lived there for months. 

Alice may have been a planner, but she definitely wasn’t a cleaner. And she definitely despised doing laundry, especially when the laundry room was in the basement. 

She made the trek down (there was an elevator-it wasn’t that bad, she just  _ really  _ hates doing laundry, it’s so  _ boring _ ) to the laundry room. A row of washing machines on one wall, a row of driers on the other, and a woman standing there folding her clothes at the table, singing to herself quietly. She had the most perfect head of curly, dark hair Alice ever had the pleasure of seeing. She’d had a lot of unexpected pleasures thrown at her this week. 

The woman’s face and body was even kinder on the eyes. She was in a tank top and loose fitting flannel shirt, jeans and boots. Even though she wasn’t singing fully, Alice could tell she probably had a powerful voice.

_ Is everyone in this place just super hot? _ Alice thought as she quickly made her way into the room, pretending she hadn’t stopped for a moment in the entryway, in shock of this goddess figure who intimidated her and made her a little horny all at the same time.  _ Holy shit, that hasn’t happened in a while, _ she thought to herself. 

The mystery woman noticed Alice after a few seconds, and looked her over at her while she was putting her clothes in one of the machines. The woman made a face to herself, eyebrows slightly raised, suggesting she liked what she was seeing. Alice felt a pair of eyes on her and turned to meet the gaze of this curly haired beauty. 

“Can I help you?” Alice asked somewhat harshly, in a very Alice tone, even if the stranger was hot as fuck. 

“Probably,” she answered, turning back to folding her clothes. “But not right this second. Are you the new girl in 3B?”

“Yes,” Alice said, unfortunately starting to recognize the deeper sounding, sultry voice. “Which floor are you on?” She knew already. She didn’t know why she was being nice. Nice for Alice, anyway.

The woman smiled and let out a brief laugh. “Third,” she said. “Nice to meet you, neighbor.”

“I don’t think that qualified as an introduction since I don’t actually know who you are yet,” Alice bit back, standing a little straighter, still not stoked about the other woman’s attitude. “I’m Alice. 3B.”

“Kady,” the woman said, sending a quick, two fingered wave across the room to Alice.

“Ah. Apartment 3A,” Alice confirmed. 

“Oh, so you’ve heard of me?”

Alice snort-laughed, looked momentarily shocked that she did, then tried to play it cool like she hadn’t. “Yeah,” she said. “Something like that”

Alice continued to busy herself with her clothes and pour soap, etc. Kady gave her a last look over before going back to folding. Any sort of heat Alice was feeling in her lower half when she walked into the room before had dissipated. Well. Kind of. Kady’s attitude was a big turn off, but despite her already extreme annoyance with Kady from her midnight romp earlier in the week - God was she hot. Alice had actually found Kady’s shouted obscenities somewhat  _ inspiring  _ the last few nights. And now that she knew Kady looked like  _ that _ \- well.  _ Whew _ . 

There had been pretty much silence from Kady’s apartment since that night. But Alice had Kady’s moans stuck in her head most of that next day, and then into the next night, and the night after that. Nothing was keeping Alice from sleep again, except that she really needed to get herself off to burn off the tension in her exhausted mind from the work week. Orgasms helped with sleep, or so research showed. You know. Science. It wasn’t at all the fact that Alice found herself wet after Julia had left that morning after bringing over tea. Or that Alice hadn’t had sex in- lord, she couldn’t even remember how long. (It was definitely both of those things.)

_ God _ , Alice thought,  _ I’d have come so much harder the other night if I’d known she was this good looking.  _

  
  


Earlier In the Week:

_ Alice laid in bed, awake and frustrated. She decided to not switch rooms around yet, mostly due to lack of time. Work was great, but she needed some release, and badly. That morning, Julia had come over with tea, and it was the cutest damn thing in the world. Then Julia offered  _ private  _ yoga practice and Alice silently lost her shit and nearly came on the spot. From cute to “I want to get in her yoga pants” in only a few short minutes.  _

_ After Julia had left, she wanted to go back to bed and run her hands over her entire body, but particularly the wet spot between her legs. She almost did in the bathroom when she realized how wet she indeed was.  _ Fuck _ , she thought. _ It’ll have to wait _. Ever the stickler for staying on schedule.  _

_ So there she was at night, in bed, picturing how fucking gorgeous Julia was that morning (or everytime she’d seen her thus far) and Kady’s moans on repeat in her head. Alice bit her lip as she felt herself getting wet again just at the thought. She barely touched herself, barely moved her fingers around her slickness near her clit before she came on her hand.  _ Jesus, I need to get laid, _ she thought.  _ Or just do this every night, I guess.  _ She hadn’t even thought about what a private yoga session with Julia would look like. If morning tea triggered that reaction, she had no idea what a session in an empty studio would do to her.  _

_ Then she did the same thing the next two nights. _

  
  
  


Kady picked up her laundry basket full of folded clothes and headed toward the elevator. 

“Nice to  _ properly  _ meet you blondie,” Kady said as she left. 

Alice didn’t know what it was, but she was pretty sure nice didn’t quite cover it. She was definitely going to need those drinks tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little more Eliot coming up, plus someone may make some moves on a certain blonde engineer. Liquid courage is a hell of a drug.


	4. It's My Party and I'll Do What I Want To

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice gets a little self love in at an inopportune time. 
> 
> Eliot meets Quentin, Eliot makes drinks, the gang gets tipsy, and possibly handsy.  
> Definitely handsy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I came up with a new fic idea yesterday and wrote a shit ton of that, but then busted this out today, so I'm just leaning into the sudden inspiration I'm getting on all sides.   
> I got a little down and dirty in this one, or at least I darn well tried. Well, Alice does. It's fine, you'll see.

Eliot shows up at her place first, followed closely by Fen and Josh who are carrying literally everything. 

“Jesus, El, you’re the worst,” Alice said as she rushed to help Josh before he toppled over trying to balance a handful of various cheeses, with a bag full of bottles of alcohol hanging from the same arm. 

“You love me,” Eliot said. Alice rolled her eyes and shoved the bag of alcohol at Eliot. 

“Whatever, just make me a drink, and quick,” she said. Eliot raised an eyebrow at her, while Josh and Fen said hi and started getting out the appetizers they undoubtedly prepped. Josh was a sous chef at a local farm to table place, and was kind of dating Fen a while back, but they mostly just seemed like good pals so they leaned into that more than the romance. They became great friends, so that was probably the right direction to go. Eliot loved Josh because he made great food that paired with great drinks, so they seemed to get along for the most part.

“Alice the place looks great,” Josh said. “Anyone else coming, by the way? Eliot was vague when I asked about how many people I should to prep for…”

“I said a bunch of hot people on her floor, I don’t know what more you want from me Hoberman,” Eliot quipped, while already pulling out glasses and bottle, starting to mix a cocktail for Alice. “Rough day, dear?”

She sighed. “Kind of,” Alice said. “Not really today. Tough week at work, and I just want to not think about anything for like five seconds.”

"Hmm. Seems like a little more than work stress, but okay," he said.

Fen chimed in, pushing Alice to sit at the bar stool. “You don’t need to do anything now that we’re here,” Fen said. “We’ll do the work, you just sit and hang out and don’t stress about the cute yoga instructor next door.”

“What?” Alice said. “ How did you- Eliot!” Eliot shrugged as he poured a translucent, pink liquid into a nice glass and handed it to Alice.

“So I  _ may  _ have mentioned to Fen that you have a thing for your neighbor, it’s  _ fine _ . Drink.”

A loud knock sounded at the door. “I’ll get it,” Eliot said as he finished pouring his own glass of pink something and moved across the room to the door in one smooth motion.

Kady was standing on the other side of the threshold, dressed in a brighter colored flowing tank than she had on earlier, as well as some designer looking ripped skinny jeans. She was clad with silver bracelets and rings on her fingers, makeup done with a bit of a smokey eye, a darker red lipstick on. If there had been a record playing in the room it would’ve scratched to a halt. All four of them inside stopped and stared at the beauty in the doorway. 

“Welcome!” Eliot said to break the silence. “You brought drinks! My kind of lady. Well, my kind is no kind if I’m being honest, but you’d be high on the list.”

Kady handed Eliot the bottle of whiskey she'd brought, and stepped inside. Josh and Fen started moving around again, Fen turned on a speaker somewhere and some light alt rock started playing in the background.

“Kady!” Alice said after taking a generous sip of her drink. “Come in, we’re just making drinks, I’m sure Eliot could make something for you with whiskey-”

“I can make anything with an alcohol content over 10%,” he cut in.

“And under ten?” Kady questioned.

“Well, I don’t actually know, it’s not worth drinking yet, is it?” he said. “Basically water at that point.” He moved into the kitchen to grab more ingredients and cut up several lemons.

Kady laughed and greeted the room, introducing herself to the others. Alice watched her interact with them easily, surprised, as she’d pictured Kady as less of a people person than that. Not that she’d pictured her much past the audible references she had stored in her brain.

Kady turned to Alice and stood by her at the bar top that was in the center of the open room, between the living room and kitchen.

“Alice,” she said, saying Alice’s name with a little extra oomph around it. 

“Thanks for coming by,” Alice said, taking another drink. She was a little flustered by Kady’s eyes on her, and she smelled amazing standing there next to her. “I wasn’t sure if..well I didn’t know if you’d want to.”

Kady scoffed jokingly and looked around.

“Well I’d actually never seen the inside of this apartment before,” she said. “Turns out it's the same set up as mine, just everything flipped opposite. It’s a little weird, but I like what you’re doing with it.” She smirked at Alice as her gaze came back to her from looking about. Alice smiled back and took another drink.

Eliot handed Kady a darker drink, obviously made with whiskey. Alice didn’t even know what she was drinking, but she didn’t question Eliot, because even though he could be a pain in her ass he could make the shit out of a good drink. 

“You let me know when you need another,” he said, “And I’ll freshen it up for you. Aka, don’t touch anything on the counter unless it has my blessing.”

Kady laughed again, and Alice was...affected. It was a deep, soulful laugh, and reminded her of- _ No. Stop that. Not now.  _ Alice’s thoughts began to creep back to a naughty spot, but she held her ground. Kady wasn’t helping her situation though, as she looked Alice deep in the eyes while trying her drink.

“Oh my god,” Kady marveled. “This is amazing. I think I need to request another now, I’ll be done with this soon. Wow.” She clinked her glass with Alice’s and said, “To Alice, the new Queen Bee of 3B.”

Fen said “here here!” from the opposite counter where she was finishing plating cheeses and other gourmet hors d'oeuvres. Eliot was already lining up drinks for the rest of them and assured Kady she’d have a refill exactly at the time she needed it. 

“So, Blondie,” she started at Alice, followed by a wink. Alice didn't mind the nick name this time. “You going to give me a tour or what?”

“You just said-”

“Come on,” Kady said, taking her hand and pulling her off the chair. “Indulge me, I wanna see how the other half lives.”

“Other half of what?”

“You science and numbers people,” Kady said. “I’m around musicians constantly, I need more nerdy variety in my life. That’s probably why I hang out with Q and Julia so much; it’s refreshing to be around such different minds from mine. Plus I don't think Quentin actually likes me very, and it's kind of fun to make him uncomfortable.”

“Well I’m- I’m technically an engineer, but I think I understand.”

They walked down the hall away from the others, toward the two rooms and hall bathroom. Kady looked around with Alice trailing, but she stopped before entering Alice’s room.

“Do you mind?” she asked Alice, pointing to the mostly shut door for permission to look around. She seemed to be genuinely curious. “I know I come off as an asshole half the time, but I promise I’m not that brash, really. Mostly.”

Alice nodded at her, and watched her as she peeked into her room, then the guest room. Alice leaned against the wall in the hallway, music floating toward them from the kitchen. She sipped on the rest of her drink as she watched Kady, curious herself now. This woman was defying her expectations in a way she didn’t count on. 

Kady came back to where Alice stood, and held up her drink to make a toast.

“To your new place,” she said, as Alice raised her glass. “I hope you like living on a floor of super amazing people.”

Alice brought her drink to her lips to drink to that.

“-and I’m only kind of sorry you have to share a bedroom wall with me.”

Alice choked on her drink slightly and looked up to Kady smirking at her and wiggling her eyebrows a few times as she took a good gulp from her own glass. The door opened in the other room and they heard more voices. 

“Ah, my favorite yogi has arrived,” Kady said, moving down the hall and leaving Alice standing there a little stunned at their exchange. She straightened up as she heard Kady greeting the other two neighbors, took a deep breath to calm herself, and headed back out.

___

  
  


“Holy shit, so you know my Margo? _My_ Margo?” Eliot asked Quentin after he told him where he worked.

“Yeah! Or I guess- well she’s my boss, I don’t know how much that counts as knowing her.”

“Whatever, if you haven’t been fired after 18 months that means she definitely doesn’t hate you, so you’re in good hands.”

“Thanks?” Quentin said. “I think."

Everyone was enjoying the amazing drinks that Eliot somehow kept turning out flawlessly and seemingly without effort. Alice had her empty pink drink replaced with a slightly oranger version when she came back from the bathroom. Eliot had whispered to her at the time  _ “you didn’t tell me your roommate had a cute little friend, Alice" _ before practically shoving drinks into everyone else’s hands. Good music was going, good food was served, and everyone sat around in groups of two or three getting to know one another. 

Alice sat down on the couch, joined by Julia. 

“So...you met Kady officially I see,” Julia said, smiling at Alice. Alice tried to hide the warmth she suddenly felt flood her face (among other parts of her body).

“Yeah. She’s actually...different than what I thought she’d be. Not that I was expecting anything in particular, per se, but- my initial impression of her earlier this week didn’t leave too much to be desired, but I guess I was wrong.” _ What?  _ Thought Alice. _ Jesus fuck El, what did you put in my drink? _

Julia laughed heartily at that, making Alice actually blush fully. Julia looked over at Kady talking and laughing with Fen and Josh in the kitchen.

“Yeah, she’s definitely different,” Julia mused. “But in good ways. You just have to get used to her.”

Alice felt like she may have missed something. “Are you two..?” she started.

“Oh god, no. Well, once. Kind of? We made out a little after one of her local shows she invited me to, like nearly three years ago. But she’s not really my type, and then there’s the fact that she’s gone half the year playing with her band. It couldn’t have worked even if I wanted it.”

“Oh. Okay,” Alice said. “So she’s in a band. That somehow makes a lot of sense.”

“Yeah, she does keys and backup vocals, but I think they just finished a tour so she’ll be around here for at least a little while.” Julia looked down at her half full glass. “What’s in these? Like, I feel great, but holy shit.”

Alice laughed, full on laughed, nodding her head. “Right?” she said. Julia was smiling back at her, and she noticed this was the first time she’d seen Alice loosen up. She got the feeling it didn’t happen very often. “I need to ask Eliot what he put in my first one, because I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.”

They laughed together for a moment, and Julia’s hand dropped onto Alice's knee, leaning over to set her drink down on the coffee table.

“We would probably pace ourselves then,” Julia said. “I don’t want to have to leave before I’m ready!” 

Alice looked down at Julia’s hand but didn’t move away from her touch. It felt good.  _ I feel good _ , she thought.  _ She feels good. Oh, I should probably set my drink down, too. _

Alice felt the warmth of the alcohol throughout her, but not in a way that was overpowering or made her lose control of her own mind in any way. She felt comfortable, less tense, less stressed. And Julia’s hand was still on her leg- Julia pulled herself closer to Alice on the couch, her hand moving onto her thigh a little now. 

_ Oh, fuck _ , Alice thought.  _ This is...not helping, actually. _ But also definitely helping, depending on how she looked at it; Alice felt heat between her legs, so close yet so far from where Julia’s hand was sitting. 

Julia was talking, she should probably pay attention.

“-I’d mentioned it a few days ago,” Julia said, “and I know you’ve been busy- or I assume you've been busy, you haven’t been around much. Or mean- jesus, sorry, not that you need to be around,” she finally moved her hand and ran it through her silky long hair, flipping most of it to one side just to have it fall slowly, almost back into place. She took a breath, Alice looking at her still fully enamored. “You seem like you’ve been busy but I’d really like to get you into the studio with me soon if you were serious about trying yoga.”

“Oh!” Alice said. “Yes! Yes, I’d love- I’d really enjoy that. I’m free in a couple days actually, I finished a good portion of a project at the lab this week so I have a day off...” She trailed off and grabbed her drink again, sipping at it to distract herself from the fact that she was definitely wet between her thighs. It was going to be a long, but apparently kind of pleasant, evening. 

She looked down to avoid eye contact, but unfortunately that’s where Julia’s perfect legs were, and suddenly Alice was imagining Julia in some compromising yoga positions with those legs. 

“Great!” Julia said. “That’s perfect, I don’t have any classes going on Tuesday afternoons, if that works for you.”

“Yeah, I-" Alice said, standing up suddenly. "I’ll be right back." Alice turned and disappeared down the hallway. 

Julia sat there a little shocked at the abrupt end of their conversation, but happy to have made plans to do some studio work with Alice. Something about Alice drew her in- she was definitely a little (a lot) awkward, but she liked being around her. She felt a little bad about telling Q she wasn’t into trying to fuck Alice, but at this point she definitely wasn’t counting it out. She stood up to go get a drink refill.

___

  
  


The night ended a few hours later, after more drinks and some drunken rounds of group games (that Eliot complained about but also kept winning). Alice had rejoined the shindig after her quick(ish) trip to the bathroom. No one had noticed her missing, apparently, but she did lock eyes with Kady multiple times during the evening, and Alice wanted more than anything in the world to know what that girl was thinking in those moments. Kady was still a total mystery and she kind of really liked it. Especially after their earlier encounter. 

And every time she looked at Julia her breathing sped up and she got butterflies whenever she smiled at her. Alice was kind of a hot mess. Literally.

_ Alice walked through her bedroom and into her master bath, making sure she wouldn't be...disturbed for a few minutes. She was pretty sure it wasn’t going to take too long to finish what had begun below and between her legs.  _

Oh my GOD, _ she thought to herself.  _ This is insane. Insane. Why am I so fucking turned on right now. Fuck. First Kady, goddamn those luscious curls and dark eyes and lush voice. Then Julia’s hand…

Speaking of hands _ , she thought, and without hesitating she leaned back on the wall and lifted her dress, spreading her legs apart and running one hand underneath the hem to touch the wet spot on her underwear. The soaking wet spot. She moved her fingers softly over her heat and felt the ache to touch herself.  _

Fuck this _ , she thought, and moved her underwear to the side and dipped two fingers in the wetness waiting there. She was more wet than she probably should have been, but it wasn’t her fault she hadn’t been fucked in ages. Well, it may have been a little bit, but she wasn’t thinking about that now. She moved a finger around her entrance, slowly moving through the slick and soft, but quickly wanting to just get off. She touched her clit with two fingers and immediately felt some satisfaction.  _

_ She knew she needed to not be in here too long, so she sped up the circles she was making in the warmth around her clit, rubbing up against it, teasing herself just a little bit. She needed to come and she could feel it building. She thought of Julia’s hand on her thigh, of Julia’s hand moving up her thigh more...Julia’s thighs in those yoga pants the other morning...she’d wanted to touch her that day, so badly. She wanted to feel her way up Julia’s thighs and on to her perfect ass, under and in between. She imagined Kady, moaning in the room next to hers, and how Kady KNEW. Alice wanted to hear Kady writhing with pleasure again, Alice pleasuring Kady into yelling her name- _

_ Alice pressed on her clit and rubbed it for a few seconds, leaning back into the wall, hips moving into the pressure of her fingers. Her whole hand was pressing on her wetness when she felt a flood of relief and pleasure move through her. Her hips canted several times and she kept her hand where it was in the heat surrounding her fingers. She wanted to yell out but stifled it, small whimper sounds leaving her mouth, hoping no one could hear here all the way down the hall. _

_ She stood there a moment and moved her fingers around in her folds, coming down from a much needed self-quickie. She slowly brought her fingers up and looked and the shine on them.  _ Fuck _.  _

_ She took off her panties and wiped herself down, although she needed a cold shower. After a good hand wash and a splash of water on her face, she went back into her room to grab new underwear, thinking for a moment that maybe she didn't need them… but she wasn’t that drunk. She headed back out after a quick change, hoping no one noticed she was gone too long. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew.   
> More of that next time, but hopefully a little more cuteness as well. But between who?? Alice might have more than one option for where to place her affection. JUST SAYING.


	5. Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of an eventful evening and a little background on Alice and Eliot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick update, nothing fancy. I'm in the middle of moving across several states right now, so I'm lagging a tad bit on my writing but still definitely have more ideas coming for this.

Julia got up to leave first. She had some early classes the next morning, and probably already had too much to drink thanks to Eliot. Quentin lagged behind to help Eliot put away bottles and rinse out glasses, still chatting away with each other, while Fen and Josh helped clean up in general, refusing to let Alice help. 

Alice walked Julia out into the hall.

“Tonight was fun,” Julia said, a slight smile forming on her lips, laughing lightly. Alice felt a warmth in her abdomen - not sexual, unbelievably, but just a warmth. A happy warmth. “I need to do that more often. But maybe less drinks the night before a class...and I wouldn’t mind just- you know, hanging out with you if- if you ever get bored..or have nothing to do or whatever.” Julia shut her eyes and winced at her words. “I mean, not to say you need things to do, I’m sure you keep yourself busy-”

“I’d like that,” Alice cut in, seeing Julia’s tipsy word stumbling, and secretly thinking it was the most adorable thing she’s witnessed in a while. She thought Julia was maybe even acting a little smitten with her - now that she knew Julia was into girls, she had a little more conviction in her crush. Crush? Crush. “I’ll see you Tuesday, yeah?”

“Of course,” Julia said, suddenly remembering their plans and putting her hand on Alice’s arm gently. Her hand lingered there for a moment, the two of them suspended there, in the hallway, Alice’s door still open a few inches and the other’s voices floating out into their atmosphere. Their bubble popped, and Julia shook her head a little, then leaned in to give Alice a hug, which surprised Alice, but she embraced her back just the same. Her buzz wore off a bit after her trip to the bathroom, but she was still feeling a fleeting fuzziness that made her want to have more contact with this woman who lived next door. 

They pulled apart and Julia backed up slowly toward her own door. “Good night,” Julia said, biting her lip as she turned around and slipped inside.

Alice walked back into her place and said goodbyes to everyone. Quentin offered to help take things down to Josh’s car, but everyone with two eyes that night could see that Quentin and Eliot had barely left each other's sides. Alice knew Eliot didn’t ever warm up to anyone  _ that  _ quickly.

She recalled when she first became friends with Eliot. 

Alice was sitting in her and Fen’s dorm room their freshman year, finishing her last mid-term paper, confident it would solidify her reputation as top student in her class. She was eager to get research funding her first year, even though her department generally only took proposals from upperclassmen (she definitely got the funding her first year). A knock sounded at the door.

She opened it up to Eliot standing there in the freshman dorm hallway holding a pack of wine coolers, one already open and in his other hand. Alice raised her eyebrows at him.

“Where’s Fen?” he said. “I have to tell her about my audition and how amazing I was, but I still didn’t get the part, so.”

“Fen went home for the weekend, Eliot. I’m sorry about the part.”

He rolled his eyes and walked in past her anyway, as she reluctantly moved aside and mentally prepped for at least ten minutes of him talking about himself. Except- he just sat down on the edge of Fen’s bed and had an anguished look on his face. He looked off into the space in front of him, eyes not focused on anything. 

“I was so good, Alice,” he said. “I was great. At least I thought I was.” He took a long pull from his half empty bottle of wine cooler and sighed. “Maybe I should just major in agricultural sciences, at least I know I can do that. Even if i fucking hate it.” 

Alice sat down next to him and grabbed a drink out of the pack. She didn’t open it, just turned it around in her hands, condensation wetting her fingertips and the label starting to peel.

“I’m not great at a lot of things,” she started. “I’m- I’m terrible at socializing and making friends. I don’t know how to even relax when I’m not doing research or running labs or doing homework. Those are my  _ hobbies _ . But I do know what I am good at. Because I love the scientific method and how I feel writing papers on topics most of the world could give two shits about, but-” she paused and opened her bottle, took a swig. “-it’s mine when I do it. No one else's. And your theatre talent is probably amazing. I can’t wait to see you in your first show, because knowing you, you’ll get a lead in the next three shows you audition for.”

Eliot looked at Alice very seriously for a moment, then gave her a quick smile and knocked their wine coolers together in a cheers. 

“Well you can see me on stage in the matinees during week two of shows, I made the cut for understudy,” he said. “But thank you for the encouragement. It was...sweet. I think I needed it, regardless.”

Alice scoffed at him, then laughed and drank the rest of her drink in one go. Eliot handed her another.

“I think you and I will get along just fine,” he said. 

___

The four of the remaining guests walked out of Alice’s apartment, with Kady lingering behind them, hesitating next to Alice just before moving through the doorway for a moment before leaving. 

“I had fun,” Kady said. “I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t think I’d enjoy myself as much as I did, but you and your friends aren’t too terrible.” She flashed a quick grin Alice’s way.

Alice was still on a high of Julia butterflies (and Eliot cocktails), and she  _ giggled  _ at Kady. “Well I’m glad you came by. You’re fun to be around.” _ What?  _

She caught Kady’s eye and they stared at each other.

“Anytime,” Kady said. “I can be pretty fun from time to time.” She winked at Alice and started to walk out, before turning over her shoulder to look at Alice once more. Alice _f_ _ elt  _ her looking, up and down.  _ Is she checking me out?  _ She thought. 

“I’ll see you around, Alice,” Kady said. “I’m sure we could have even more fun some other time together.”

And then she was gone down the hall, followed by a loud door close. Alice stood there, partially in shock, not quite sure if she heard her neighbor just coming onto her. She finally shut and locked the door, then made herself another strong drink before she could think too much about anything else that night.


	6. I'm Sure We Could Think of Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julia does some reflection and thinks about what she really wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I just started writing and this is what came of it. I'd be lying if I told you I had a solid plan for where this is going. I'm just enjoying the ride, really. Hope you can, too! Thanks for sticking with it, and I appreciate the comments and kudos!

It was Tuesday. Alice was  _ stressed _ . Mostly from some stuff at work- some new guy in the lab named Todd kept asking her questions about her current project, and as much as she wanted to humor him and brag a bit about her work, he set her progress back more than she’d liked. She was glad to have a day off, but anxious about being behind. She halfway contemplated going in for a few hours just to make sure she was caught up, before she got a text from Julia, which brightened her spirits.

  
  


**Julia:** Hey neighbor! You still good to come by the studio later today? My last class is at 4, then I have a few things to do in the back office, but I’ll be free by 5

Alice felt butterflies. How odd. Her anxiety about work dissipated a little and as she wrote out her response. 

**Alice:** I can do 5! Send me the address and I can head over then!

_ Is that too many exclamation points? _ she thought to herself, already having hit send. Alice hated texting. It left too many variables in the overall communication. Her phone buzzed in her hand.

**Julia:** Great! Just wear something comfortable, we’ve got mats and everything at the studio so just bring yourself ;) See you later

___

  
  


Quentin came up to Julia at the end of the class around 4 p.m., a small, knowing smile on his face.

“Hey you,” she greeted him as she started to walk toward the back office. “Walk with me, you can tell me about the grin you’ve got, but I think I can guess what it’s about.” 

She caught him in the kitchen earlier smiling down into his phone, texting with Eliot. They’d swapped numbers at Alice’s shindig, and she could tell he had a little crush brewing. Better to focus on his than her own, she thought. 

“Hey Jules, yeah, I just wanted to let you know I wont be in tonight, so don’t worry about me for dinner or anything,” he said. They usually ended up ordering in or making dinners together on Tuesdays since they both had easy afternoons that day. “I might- well I think I’ll be out. With a person. Eating elsewhere.”

They went into her office and she started going through the mail from that week that was sitting on her desk, doing her best to not think about her 5 o’clock appointment. She had some back-end business shit to get done, so she might as well get it done now. It also happened to be a great distraction from the weirdly flustered feeling she got every time she thought about Alice coming into the studio.

“Like on a date?” she asked, trying to hold back a smirk in his direction. Quentin hadn’t been out in a while, minus his mandatory work outings he dragged her on. He’d been busying himself with work- probably also as a distraction, she thought. 

“Like on a date.”

“Well I guess I’ll just have to order in for one, for once,” she said, feigning sadness. “God, I don’t know what I’ll do without you there...actually, I can finally catch up on my reality shows since you won't be there to make fun of me for it.”

“Those shows are shit and you know it,” he said seriously while she just laughed. She did know it, but it was a guilty pleasure she indulged in every so often. And again- distractions were welcome. 

“I’m actually staying a little later tonight anyway, so don’t worry about me,” she said nonchalantly. “I’ve got some work to get done here. Go enjoy Eliot for the evening.”

“Okay,” he said. “Okay, yeah. I have a date. I’m going on a date.” He looked at her with his goofy Quentin grin on his face- the one that shows he’s clearly excited for what’s to come- and backed out of the office with a goodbye wave. She didn’t need him asking her about Alice again, he’d already hinted more than once that she should make a move on their new neighbor. 

The both of them had been on a break from their love lives. They’d both went through some shit in the last few years, and even though they were now in a good place, Julia was still hesitant. She was happy to see her best friend take the risk with Eliot, though. 

She sighed to herself as she sat down, knowing that  _ risk  _ wasn’t the right word. He was trying to be fully happy again, which is more than she could say for her damn self. 

He may hide it nicely, but Q was a softy on the inside, he always had been. When he became vulnerable, the likelihood he would fall from happiness into a deep depression increased, so he rarely let himself be happy with another person beyond just sex. He only slept with a couple of people throughout their college years, and one completely wrecked him. So it was nice to see his walls start to come down again.

Julia, on the other hand, didn't have that same confidence yet. She understood the irony - she had built her independence and reputation as a strong woman and small business owner in the community in the years after college, following her own heartbreak. 

James left her for _ a job _ across the country. He didn’t even stop to think about their relationship before he accepted some big corporate to-do, thanks to his family’s connections. He’d just assumed she’d follow him, completely disregarding any dreams or wants that Julia had. They didn’t even fight. She was the one to immediately end it as soon as she understood that the last decade of her life with him was a waste, and he never truly saw her for her.

It broke her, the shame she felt. The raw pain of realization that she had just been existing for someone else and never for herself.

That was five years ago. After saying fuck you to James and the corporate world, and in part to her parents who expected her to go that direction after finishing school (that they paid for) with a business degree, she found a good therapist and started dedicating herself more seriously to her yoga practice. After teaching for two years at the studio she regularly went to, she decided to take the leap and open her own, considering she already knew how. 

She learned to love herself. She put up boundaries, in a mostly healthy way, with her family, distancing herself from them and their money over time. It was her and Quentin throughout the whole thing, supporting each other through their respective journeys. 

She was so confident in everything in her life at this point- except having a committed relationship with someone who wasn't Quentin. In the beginning of it all, she was hooking up with anyone who would buy her a drink. She knew what she was doing, and hated herself even more for it every time it happened. She was just burying her feelings in pleasure. But in a weird way it helped her learn more about herself, physically. What she liked and what turned her off, how to communicate her wants clearly during sex, and just overall learning to enjoy her body. Yoga did most of that work, but in the end her many one night stands taught her more than she'd bargained for.

That's how she "dated, until a few years ago, when she felt more for someone again. She was so afraid of it that she stopped it before it really became anything. Kady invited her to a show a few months after they’d met, as neighbors. Julia was enamored by such a gorgeous woman with that _voice_ , and intrigued to know her more. 

She told Alice they just kissed after a show once, but she didn’t tell Alice they went out together several times after that. She didn’t tell her about the weeks she spent all her free time with Kady, opening themselves up to each other. Only to become super insecure with their relationship once Kady started touring more regularly and for longer periods of time. Julia saw an Instagram photo of some girl hanging all over Kady backstage, and she knew she wasn’t ready for something like this yet. She didn't know how to trust someone to not break her heart again.  As much as she liked Kady, she broke it off while she was still on the road. Kady said she understood, and it ended without bad blood between them., but they stopped being anything after that, including friends. Julia regretted losing her, but she knew she was right to end it when she wasn't willing to go all in. 

Julia leaned back in her desk chair and rubbed her eyes, clearing her mind of the memories she’d come to terms with by this point. She liked Alice, but did  _ she  _ want to take a risk? Was she ready now?  _ Will I ever be? _ She thought. _Maybe this time can be different. Alice is different._

She woke up her computer and got to work, still thinking about what to do next.

___

Alice walked into an empty yoga studio at 4:52 p.m. There were two mats already set up next to each other, but she didn’t see Julia. As she continued toward the mats she heard faint music coming from a halfway off to the side of the large studio room. Ever the curious one, she followed the sound down the hall to an open office door where she saw Julia sitting there. Alice’s breath caught in her throat. 

Julia was beautiful, just sitting there at her desk in the low light of the back office, the glow from the computer screen reflecting in the glasses she had on.  _ Glasses? Cute. _

Alice knocked softly on the open door, startling Julia a little. But as soon as she saw Alice standing there she seemed to light up, and not from the computer screen. She turned down the music.

“Alice! Hi!” She stood up and walked toward the blonde at the door.

“Hey,” Alice said quietly. She didn’t want to speak so loud so that she disturbed the peacefulness she felt in the room, a goodness radiating from Julia. “Sorry I’m early, I wasn’t doing anything so I-” 

She was caught off guard because she was suddenly in a hug from Julia. She decided to not fight her instincts for once, and hugged her back. It felt comfortable. Which was...odd for Alice. But she had decided on her way over here to walk into the building with an open heart and mind, so she embraced it, literally and otherwise. She’d meant for that to be in regards to the yoga part of the evening, but this felt okay, too. 

Julia pulled away and stood in front of her, and they looked at each other for a moment.

“I didn’t know you wore glasses,” Alice said, after what seemed like far too long to stand there in comfortable silence. 

“Oh,” Julia said, laughing at herself and taking the glasses off, setting them on a pile of papers on her desk. “I just use them when I have to look at a screen for more than a few minutes.”

Alice was trying to listen and not to look at the rest of Julia- she was wearing a fashionably cute sports bra and some yoga pants, her toned midriff distracting Alice. She glanced down for half a second -  _ half a second  _ \- and her imagination went a little wild. 

What Alice didn’t realize was that Julia had been taking her in this whole time, but she was too distracted to notice. Julia gave her butterflies, or something like it. It was like a good anxiety but more flustered. Like she suddenly didn’t know how to form words correctly when she was near. 

Julia studied Alice briefly after she took off her glasses. She noticed she was a little off, nervous maybe. She still couldn’t read her as well as she’d like to, but she was pretty sure the blonde just checked out her body. She felt a fleeting tenseness about them, then immediately decided what she wanted with this woman. Something clicked inside her that said _ be comfortable, so she can be, too. _ All the old thoughts she had been burdening herself with earlier seemed to float away. It was just her and Alice. 

Julia reached out and touched Alice's arm gently. “I’m just glad you came,” she said. “I don’t care if you’re early, I like having you around whenever.” The words kind of just...fell out of her, but they felt right.  _ Was this too much?  _ She thought.  _ It doesn’t feel like too much yet. _

Suddenly her touch on Alice’s arm felt too hot, but she didn’t want to let go. Alice looked down at Julia’s hand, now gently caressing her arm, her thumb making small, slow movements across Alice’s skin. Alice felt like she might explode. Or implode. Or just burn up right there from the heat she felt coursing through her body. 

“I-,” Alice started, at a loss for words again. She looked back at Julia’s eyes, forgetting everything else going on. “I like being around. Around you, I mean.” 

The corners of Julia’s mouth flinched upward to a small smirk-like, warm smile. They were standing close. They felt even closer. Her hand hadn’t moved yet, hadn’t ceased the small strokes from her fingers. The light was still low in the office, and the air around them warm and thick with a different kind of tension. Julia shifted her feet, moving barely closer. She let her hand drop, grazing her fingertips along smooth skin, taking Alice’s hand in her’s.

“How disappointed would you be if we didn’t get around to doing yoga tonight?” Julia asked. 

“Depends,” Alice said. “What else did you have in mind?”

Julia reached up with her other hand and brushed a strand of blonde hair back behind Alice’s ear. She left her hand there, lightly brushing her fingers along the other woman’s cheek. 

“I’m sure we could think of something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I kind of have a plan.   
> Definite smut in the next chapter, so buckle up. If you're not here for that...bummer.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I have more in the works, so if you're at all still intrigued, there's more coming the next couple of days.


End file.
